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General Manager Steve Keim was on Arizona Sports 620 this morning recapping the game yesterday. Among the things he was asked about, not surprisingly, was the play/situation of left tackle Levi Brown.

“I take it personal because it wasn’t good enough,” Keim said. “It starts with me. It comes down to making sure (offensive coordinator/line coach) Harold Goodwin and (assistant line coach) Larry Zierlein continue to work with him. Technically, there were a lot of issues, whether it was use of hands, playing straight-legged, not moving his feet and I think if you talk to Levi, he’d be the first to tell you it wasn’t good enough.

“That’s an area we obviously need to improve. But I take it personal. I’ve got to do a better job. It starts with me and like I said, there’s no way to sugarcoat it. But there are only so many options. We will continue to look at those moving forward.”

Keim, a former college offensive lineman, said he was generally pleased with the rest of the offensive line play.

Keim was admittedly down because of the loss and said he was “disappointed and frustrated.” He was happy with the play of Carson Palmer — “It was nice to see a real NFL quarterback out there spinning the rock,” he said — and the receiving corps, and thinks the running game was getting better as the game went on. He praised Bruce Arians for his playcalling. On defense, Keim said he was hoping for better tackling and more of a pass rush, although he noted the Rams used a lot of three-step drops and got big gains because of missed tackles. He saw blown coverages too, especially on tight end Jared Cook.

Yes, it is dissapointing! How many times and loses does it take to replace him (brown)? He’s cost us injuries to QB’s/fumble because of protection/ and I can’t count how many offsides penalties I’ve heard since we drafted him. Its not like it is going to change at this point, he has been playing for atleast 5-6 seasons if not more he should KNOW what he is doing wrong and fix it. This is a CHANGE in position that is requred. I’m not sure why the cardinal organization has so much invested in him? He has cost us so much more..

We have the draft/free agents/ fans in the stadium who would love to step up to the chllenge.

I’m sorry for the rant but, its getting old.

I am a fan and I’m tired of the loses because of stupid protection issues.

Don’t take it too personally Steve. Teams don’t clear out their front office and coaching staff when they are overloaded with talent. You have made lots of improvements this year, that is obvious. Left tackle (and to a degree the o-line in general) still need improvement next offseason.

I don’t care how anyone feel i buy the sunday ticket every year to watch the cardinals games and yesterday i watched levi brown cost us that game. and todd bowls got to get his stuff together and that’s real talk.

My only concern with the game (other than the loss, but it is only the first game) is the punt under two minutes on 4th and 2. We went for it in pre-season on 4th and short and so I was hoping to see us do it again, but for some reason the going for it on 4th and short is a philosophy few NFL coaches have. Bellichec (sp) does it successfully more often than not. We’ll see it from the Eagles.

Of the 12 teams that entered the playoffs last year, only 2 had QB’s with under 60% passing. Flacco and Luck.

Very refreshing and honest answer that you would have never heard from the last regime. If Keim would have instead said something to the effect of, “Replace Levi with who,” like Arians did yesterday, I’d be pretty concerned.

Hopefully the crop of left tackles will be deep this season, because we’re going to win a lot more games than we did last year — and the Biidwill’s, Keim, and Arians get all the credit for that! I’m excited again for Cardinals football and the future!:)

I don’t want to grind on this but lets face it Levi Brown cost the Cards this game and will be the same sad story against Detroit next week, The Lions will be as tough or tougher on defense than the Rams were so if no changes instituted we will see the same wreck as we saw against the Rams. The Lions also have a better QB than the Rams did, so if the defense plays like it did against the Rams we are going to have a blow out with the cardinals losing big time.

I also didn’t understand Carson’s play in the last 40 seconds, it seemed he was all for getting his total passing yards over 300 yards to pad his stats but seemed unconcerned about moving the ball down the field, did not spike the ball once. After watching A Rodgers playing with his heart with time running out compared to the lack luster performance of Palmer with time running out you can appreciate the difference between a great QB and an average QB.

Keim needs to take it personally. He decided not to address the LT spot in the offseason and now is seeing it backfire on him.

What is worse, he isnt new to the team and he has seen this before with Levi, yet did nothing. Let’s see, he played poorly as a LT for several years, is injured and out all last year. Yeah, that makes sense to call him elite and have no real backup plan in place.

Maybe Potter was the backup plan but he played so poorly in preseason, you cant use him. Massie couldnt hold on to the RT spot, why do people think he is a LT?

Unfortunately, Levi is the best LT on this team. We will have to ride him till next year. There are no LTs sitting on their couch or being traded for back up RBs. Keim made the decision and we will live with it.

At least with the pass rush, they tried to address with Alexander and Abraham.

I know it’s only one game, but it’s a costly loss in the division, a few observations:

Cards missed DWash yesterday letting Cook run wild, they need more speed at LB and we all know another Pass Rusher. This team needs a Matthew or Lewan in next years draft at LT.

At least they will be competitive this year (until Palmer get’s hurt), the WR’s look good and so did the RB’s. But that loss yesterday is squarly on the Defense, you can’t lose a lead in the 4th Qrt. Bowles may have to use more blitz’s call until DWash is back and if Dan Williams can’t stop the run then they have another hole to replace….

Glad to hear Keim take some responsibility. Usually losses result in individual players being targeted or the Coach being blamed (and fired). Fans need to be mindful that what happens on the field is because of decisions made in the front office and coaches can only do so much with what they have to work with. The Offensive Line was identified as being THE major issue to be addressed this year but when draft time/FA came, we did little while other teams were grabbing talent right and left to improve their offensive and defensive lines…front office misstep! This team is loaded with talent and the teaching that has occurred is exciting, but I think it is a really cowardly and a cheap shot to blame one or two players for a loss when it is NEVER as simple as just one play or one player. The Rams were favored in their home game and, like the Cards, are often underrated. This was a good effort and hopefully fans aren’t going to get all crazy and overreact to one game. The best thing we can do is keep it real, and learn from our mistakes!

I’m not following it as deep as you Americans do, but as far as I read the news there were few options at LT back in offseason that could be a nice fit over Levi, I mean few affordable options. There was no Cop injury by then and Quinn is a beast. Well, there are others beast players who Levi will have to hold, so I agree with you, we will have to hold on him till next April.

Apart of that, we can win games. Palmer has a nice ball placement which made me confident on third downs, I may be wrong but he looked sharper than Romo.

Hope OC and staff can fix some os Levi’s issues, specially in key plays, pushing us to winning games.

Levi is going to get eaten up game after game if nothing is done. Teams watch film and know that he is the weakest link and sadly hes the “blindside” coverage. Detroit is next and I’m sure they are licking there chops waiting to get at levi…its only time and QB carasel will begin again. ;-/

I think most look sharper than Romo. I also agree, if what we saw is the same as what Keim and Arians saw, Levi was the best LT available on or off the team. We have weaknessess, but our O-Line performed better in protection and the run game than last year.

3 sacks from an awesome LB, but we had two touchdown passes. We ran the ball effectively, whichever back was in. Our QB had the protection he needed to complete 65% of his passes, two for touchdown.

Did ya’ll notice the Rams made a touchdown strike from their 45 that Mathieu stopped with a brilliant play (and Dansby was right there). I was thrilled that since we lost Karlos we replaced him with Washington whom I have seen as an upgrade. Yesterday everywhere I looked, Karlos was involved in the play. Welcome back man. Now to have Washington and Dansby, can hardly wait for the Panthers.

Anyway, the Rams threw for a big play at half filed. The very next time we were at half field BA called for a touchdown strike to Floyd. We were stopped from a touchdown on about the same yardline as the Rams, but we kept the ball and scored, they did not.

I loved that we responded with an “Oh yeah, well take this.” attitude.

4th and 2 under two minutes and we punted? Reminded me of Whizenhunt’s approach to the ending of the Jets game last season. I’m hoping we adopt Chip Kelly’s 4th and short approach sooner than later. Statistically, we’ll get the first down more often than we’ll turn the ball over on downs.

Have a nigh unbreakable policy that if we’re inside the 50, 4th and 3 is a go for it situation – inside 60, 4th and 2 is go for it.

I’m not calling BA out, but he did land on my list with that one. I’m calling out the entire NFL attitude that a 4th down calls for a punt. Even the announcers declared the Rams fourth and inches as “well I don’t see that you have any choice but to punt.” Man, they ran a 2 point conversion why would they even consider punting? Fisher should be on a list for that one.

I’d have said, “Fitz, Roberts, Floyd, Brown, Dray, Peterson – the ball is coming to one of you. Catch it!” ” O-Line, we need 6 seconds for Carson or you’ll lose 5 pounds running laps on Monday and another 5 on Tuesday if he’s sacked! If you give him 7 seconds, Steak and lobster dinners on me all week.”

Why do we continually make excuses for Levi Browns play?Very disappointment in managements decision not to spend money for a left tackle. All you had to do is look at the past three years, and watch him play. He is terrible, and if not replaced quickly the same things will happen as past years. Put potter or Massie in or move Winston to the left and Massie to the right.Also Cooledge played some left tackle in the past.If forever reason move Levi inside where he cannot get exploited as in he past.Please do not put us through another season where management will not admit they made a mistake and move on.

There is no doubt that I wanted the cards to trade down this past draft.
I liked guys like Star Lotiluli and Kenny Vacarro.

But trading down would have also given us another 2nd rounder. Guys like Menelik Watson (2nd Round) is starting in Oakland at LT before injury and Terron Armstead who is the back up LT in New Orleans. and starting in the near future for pass happy Saints.

Heck, you didnt even need to trade down and just take either of them in the second round with Cooper in the first.

Another option was the raiders trading down. We could have traded a 1 and 2 for LT Johnson in the 3rd pick.

Just re-watched Arians’ post game interview. Keep in mind, at that point he does not have all the media analysis to answer everything. He needs to look at films and then answer again… BUT…… When asked about LEVI…. He pointedly said, “Who else, we’re going with our guys.” Stubborn response without really viewing game film… I hope he recants… Too, the “who else” thing tell us that #75 is his anchor tenant with no back up??? He cannot possibly think that. What if #75 got hurt, as in last year??? Panic… nope, he has alternates… but wants Levi to be the man, but “Hey Coach, the anchor is set in loose sand here.” Procrastination is an ugly demon… Make a change or put help back there for Palmer to stay healthy. I hope Keim has some input here… These guy have such a good thing here, why mess it up early with an obvious fix.

what you have recited is the ongoing broken record about Levi Brown. Yes, we and the NFL knows that he has bad technique. Yes, he has slow feet. Yes, he gets knocked off balance easily. Yes, he cannot handle speed rushers. Yes, he cannot handle power rushers. Yes, he is decent in the run game. Yes, he is big and strong, but not very agile. Yes, he is better suited to be a guard.

Nothing new here, Mr. Keim. You knew that even before training camp. You know even the best technique cannot overcome a speed rusher when your tackle is too slow to begin with. You know the best technique cannot overcome a power rusher when your tackle is too weak and too unbalanced. That is the NFL book on Mr. Brown and its no secret.

Now what are you going to do about it to save the season before it slips away because the entire NFL knows Mr. Brown is the weak link in the Cards offense and they will certainly concentrate on jamming rushers through him to knock out Palmer and cripple the offense.

Massie played just fine during the preseason, but did you ever really think they were going to go with Massie when they had All-Pro Winston sitting on the bench?

As for playing Massie or Winston at left tackle, what do you have to lose? Clearly Brown is not acceptable since he is just a slow turnstyle straight to a major injury to Palmer. If Massie or Winston can be even a maginal improvement over Brown, that is one less sack, one less hit, and one less hurry that could make the difference between a loss or a win.

Besides, these players all get paid to play so try them out and see if they can do any better. Just sitting pat on Levi Brown is not acceptable and certainly shows no imagination or commitment to winning.

I think some people might need to fire up their DVRs and rewatch the game. There were certainly some miscues and an opportunity to win the game. However, I think there is much more to feel good about than bad.

The pass rush did not generate many sacks but did dictate the Rams offensive play calling. There was enough pressure that the QB had to take a lot of 3 step drops and make a lot of quick reads and throws. What this does is keep long plays down the field from developing. The Rams had a long reception of 47 most of which came after the catch. Much of he Rams yardage, because they were forced to throw quickly, could have been negated with better tackling.

Going back and watching Levi he has little trouble when he had some TE or RB help. Arians sees this too. The problems are correctable and there is a lot to be excited about. Fitz, Floyd and Roberts were disgusting and the long ball seemed to work pretty well. I really wish that 3rd and 2 toss to Ellington had been completed he may have ended the game right there. Anyhow keep your heads up Cards fans this game was like a breath of fresh air, its good to remember what its like to be in one.

The loss wasn’t all Levi’s fault.
Pro’s- The passing game was fun to watch as Palmer was accurate and hit all of the WR’s and a few TE’s for completions. Shade oif the days with KW…..
The running game was better, it looked like both RB;s were a few steps from breaking their runs for big gains.
HB’s saving of a TD was a great play…. That kid has some speed.
it was great to see Williams with the pic and lumber the 2yds into the end zone for a TD….

Con’s- The pass defense was horrible.
The pass rush eas horrible or non existent.
Do the Cards have a screen pass or a quickslant pass play in the playbook to take off the pressure from the blitz’s???
The play calling in the 2nd half was suspect. Palmer was killing the Ram’s deep over the middle in the first half. If did seem the Cards were not doing that, that often in the 2nd half.

Hopefully, things will be better for the Cards, against the Lions.

On another note: the Steelers LSH is out for the season after 6 carries with a torn ACL.

Keim is pretty observant and is going to be a good GM. Her is what I observed in comparison to last season.
1. Huge improvement in overall offense and offensive play calling.
2. Huge improvement at QB
3. Poor offensive line play, little improvement there
4. Special teams play about the same or slightly worse
5. Overall defensive play about the same, but defensive play calling is worse
The Rams were the team we needed to beat to climb out of the NFC West cellar so no further comment required there but I can’t help but inquire if the Rams handed out a “Game Ball” to Levi Brown or perhaps named him as the games MVP.

Overall, a good performance by the Redbirds.Feely missing from 50 was not good but hardly the reason Cards lost. A few observations other than the obvious: Palmer looked really good! A few errant throws and drops but WOW what an improvement over last year!! Mendenhall is also a nice upgrade at RB and Powell looked decent. Cards had some nice running plays. WR’s were pretty solid. Roberts with some glue hands and took a beating! Great work and Fitz has to be giddy! S-T-U-D!! Tyrann Mathieu had a good-not great game as a nickel corner but I really liked the hustle play to save a TD! Can’t teach that. well done kid! Arenas- take a freaking knee!! down on the 12 and a fumble?! Get it together or that may have been your last kickoff return. OK.. Jeraud Powers… There has to be someone better than this guy out there. Probably working at McDonalds, but 25 is useless. This is obvious but I have to… Levi… Levi is disappointing. He just doesn’t have the talent. Arians is going to have to give Levi some help on every passing play. A RB chipping or TE double teaming. Nothing else to say. Arians.. 1 call I was frustrated with 3rd and 2, 4th quarter, 2 minutes left. Cards take a TO. return with a wheel route, long throw to a rookie RB who clearly ran the wrong pattern. Carson threw lovely touch pass and Ellington was lost. Cards had been so successful on short passes and, dare I say, with some decent running, there had to be a better call than that. Cards punt, Rams stick it down our throats with Cook, game over. On to next week. Go Redbirds!

It’s funny to hear all you people call for Levi’s job yet no one we have is better than him. Not even Potter. Arians recognizes that and that’s what I love about him. Whiz would’ve thrown Potter in there just because. Same way he threw Ryan Lindell into the game in Atlanta even though we were winning and Skelton is the obvious better choice. That being said, I believe Levi will improve and this coaching staff is smart enough to make the corrections in schemes and protection.

In my opinion, the lack of defensive pressure is way more concerning. dockett looks to have lost his ability to me. Also, linebackers didnt play well in coverage. Dansby is too slow to cover tight ends, we are missing Washington there.

Still, I’m happy with the direction this team is going and believe we are way better than last year! Bring on the Lions!

clessylssy…. One needs to understand the domino effect using the weakest link example. The people upstairs have done their job, but they have a weak link, and the chain broke there yesterday. Explained: Let’s say #75 misses a block; the QB gets hammered and can’t pass the ball; the receivers can’t catch a non-pass; maybe a turnover…the offense doesn’t move the ball; the team won’t score! The ONE-LINK-EFFECT… The part not yet mentioned here… Your QB gets hurt; the 2nd string comes in; your efficiency goes down; the receivers lose confidence… Should I keep going? This stuff is elementary…

ti was the 1st game,in a hostile stadium,against a really good pass rushing defense,against a team that had our number last year,and BA said backs missed assignments to chip blocks,and we’re still sorting through stuff,we had a dbl.digit lead iin the 4th qtr.we’re getting closer every week,gelling like magellan,once we get washington back,we figure out abrahams best presence,our rbs break off a few chunk runs,TE play becomes a factor,and all the loose strands become part of the whole,we will be good.look at palmers stats,the reciever play,the running game is getting better,what was so bad,we lost by a last minute field goal on the road,to a team that owned us last year.look at seattle,many picked as a SB fav,they had to battle hard to score 12 points for a win.

levi will get better,he has played better before,and BA will make sure he has chip blocking help,all things considered i’m excited going forward,disappointed we lost but we’re starting to flex some real potential,lets see how we look after the 1st 4 games,then we get washington back hopefully.breaking down game film,another week of practice and we should be good for the next challenge.keim will always be looking to improve…all positions,that’s his job and passion.

Keim gets a pass after his first game as GM. Taking the blame is big on his part.
Whiz had the same excuses week after week-‘ we’ll clean up the mistakes’.
Let’s hope that Keim doesn’t give us the same story week after week.

I couldn’t help but notice that the same folks who complained about Lindley last season are defending Levi Brown & Co. That’s ironic because if Brown and the O-Line don’t improve, Ryan Lindley will be the Cardinal’s starter at QB by week 6 while Palmer and Stanton are recuperating from season-ending blind-side injuries.

“Everytime I see L. Brown, I see A.P. being passed on in the draft…..Horrible”

If A.P played behind a bad Offensive line he would be Beanie Wells. Cooper, Fanaika, Sowell Keim did address the line this off season. Not sure if Brown’s contract status would have been detrimental to the team, if he was cut. Levi needs to step it up. Massie, and Potter opportunity is knocking, will one of them grab it?

Cert 33… Agree with your possible looming scenario… We could swap Fanaika with Brown while grooming other LT’s and things would improve. (Not sayin’ that can happen) Fanaika is supposed to be more agile. Coaches sometimes espouse that playing LT is akin to rocket science… Here’s your singular Job – keep that DE off our QB, period. LT’s don’t get into complicated schemes… Just protect the QB ^%$@*%75,,OK? Adding a TE could help…you can’t expect a running back to be effective blocking a guy and give away 70 to 90 pounds. I remain positive…. I wonder how practice is going. Dear Mr. Keim – we’re talking 7 years to fix #75’s techniques… 7 years! … 7 years!… Insurmountable endeavor…I am hopeful Coach… got sumpin’ for us? 5 seconds… that’s all we want….

give it a break,last year peeps were missing levi,saying they did’nt realize how bad we could get,he had one below average outing and everyone wants to pile on again,last year we gave up …like twice as many sacks to the rams,they have a very good pass rushing defense,we played on their turf,levi’s 1st game back in a year,bring your lynch rope if we play as poorly as last year at seasons end,at least our offense can look the defense in the eye and feel an equal part of the team,we did score better than last year and the players are positive,it is getting better and game by game we’ll be a better team the more we come together.

Levi had a bad game, unfortunately it was on opening day. It bothers me that the coach / coaches didn’t make the necessary adjustment to help / support Brown. If there guy is whipping our guy where is the pulling guard, the chipping tight end?
A lot of palyers are pulling up more which to me causes and will continue to cause more missed tackles; avoiding collision tackling.
Not a bad game but with 5 minutes and you have the lead and the ball you have to put your opponents away, end of story. Offense didn’t deliver like Warner would have in 09-10. First game, first game………Go Cards

Why don’t we use some of the depth we have elsewhere to trade for a halfway decent replacement for Levi Brown???

I’m tired of seeing the same play over and over. I don’t care what QB you put in. It’s the one where Levi Brown doesn’t hold his man and the guy comes up from behind the QB and blindsides him. Usually this play results in a fumble. It happened numerous times when Warner was the QB.

C’mon everybody, calm down and breathe!! This whole off-season this site was full of optimism and hope….. we lose one game close, and now everybody’s practically screaming abandon ship!! Yes it was an ugly loss and there were some problems exposed that we need to shore up, but relax a bit, let’s see what happens next week. GO CARDS!!!!

I was talking free agency. By the Draft, I still think Cards made a nice move by bringing Cooper in. Besides giving up too many sacks last year Cards had a terrible running game.

In a more oriented passing game NFL era along with BA’s mind, a LT would have been more important than a Guard – talking draft – but how much woult it cost?
would it be worth considering the upcoming years and new adversities and needs?

By the draft no one knew – and now it is still an enigma – if Cards would have a reliable QB this season which means they would likely have to draft one next april to supply another year of poor QB play. So, back in April I still wouldn’t make a trade to get a LT, even though it was quite important, it would certanly cost more long term.

Time to root for Palmer and start tracking down the best LT in college. – let’s not forget there’s a fancy QB class coming up –

go back and look at the sacks,yes levi was beaten,but just a little help,like a chip on the way out to a route would’ve bought enough time,now go look at last years game,it was a tsunami coming at the qb.the rb does’nt need to stand up quinn or whoever,just alter his path a little to be effective,i still think that once it is ingrained that it is everybodys responsibility to block and not just run routes,catch,run the rock,then our o-line takes a step up.

Draft Guy: already looking to next year’s picks… I agree, but how ’bout now?

De Vingo: I want to see you play all-out after a year off!!!! (Yep, I do.. If he can’t, get someone else…you work this out in camp and pre-season games)

Ii could go on and on with fan’s example of naivete and hopefulness (i.e. if you want to win.) I sincerely appreciate the chill factor, but again 7 years to work on technique??? 7 years..??? 7- ^$%#^% years????

Here’s the technique: When The DE comes at you, you push him back and maybe knock him on his behind… a good LT doesn’t keep BACKING UP and fall on his ass next to his QB… Brown is big and strong, but super slow for a good LT, period.

Carson Palmer was pressured on 15 of 44 total dropbacks…3 sacks, 1 fumble.
The defense played well enough to beat the Rams. Quit changing the subject.

The math::: The record to win the Division??? 10-7, probably not… The Conference Wild Card??? 9-7, outside maybe…probably not.

As of now we have to go 9-6 to have any shot at all… probably need 10-5 to have a shot to make the play offs… One loss is really 2, huh? And the crowd goes wild, the players are happy, and the mgmt can be proud… Possible??? I hope so…

Or… we can put a very good plan together for next year…. Arians: WIN NOW, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS REBUILDING… THIS IS WHY I LIKE HIM… Thank you for reading my sonata… been a Cards fan for many years… Be well all….